S.D. SCHOOLS CHIEF KOWBA WILL SPEAK AT LAST MEETING

New superintendent’s principal picks, $1.2B budget on agenda

Bill Kowba will attend his last San Diego school board meeting as superintendent today, giving him a final opportunity to weigh in on everything from the bleak fiscal period that defined his tenure to the future of California’s second-largest district.

Trustees are poised to approve San Diego Unified’s $1.2 billion operating budget, a spending plan for the new academic year that calls for property sales, class-size increases and the elimination of jobs left vacant through attrition.

Also on the agenda is the appointment of a crop of new principals to work with principal-turned-superintendent Cindy Marten, and the district’s first master principal to mentor them.

General Counsel Lawrence Schoenke, who is retiring along with Kowba, would stick around through December earning up to $100,000 as a legal adviser under a proposed consulting contract.

“To maintain that stability in the classroom, not one single teacher or staff member has received a layoff notice,” said board President John Lee Evans. “We are going to give our new superintendent the staff that she needs to develop quality schools in every neighborhood,” Evans said.

Trustees must adopt a budget by June 30. However, the district’s financial outlook is expected to change dramatically next month when Gov. Jerry Brown is set to sign California’s budget. Brown has proposed a new funding formula for public schools that would generate millions of dollars in new revenue for the San Diego Unified School District.

The district plans to close an $88 million deficit to next year’s budget by selling surplus property and raising class sizes in the earliest grades. The district would eliminate an estimated 300 positions left vacant through retirements and resignations.

Under a labor pact approved last year, the district agreed to use the bulk of new state funds to eliminate furlough days and restore negotiated pay raises that were delayed when teachers agreed to concessions.

The success of the district’s attrition plan will not be known for months once retirements and resignations are final. The hiring freeze is expected to save money but would be lifted for the most crucial jobs, including the mentor principal who will help new school leaders master the job that will take on new prominence under Marten.

Trustees are expected to approved several administrative contracts. Among them are six school principal appointments.

Schoenke, who has served as general counsel since 2011 — with an annual salary of $213,317 — would be paid $104.56 an hour, plus expenses, through December to provide “legal advice and counseling” and to work on pending matters if the board approves the consulting contract.

Under the California Public Employees Pension Reform Act that went into effect this year, agencies may not hire back employees within 180 days of their retirement unless they pass a resolution certifying the crucial need for the employment.

Deputy General Counsel Andra Donovan has been named as Schoenke’s successor. Her promotion means a salary boost from $167,000 to $213,000. Unlike many positions that will be left vacant under the attrition plan, Donovan’s deputy position will be filled.

Evans said the consulting contract for Schoenke would be taken from the fund used to pay outside attorneys. The district would pay Schoenke a cheaper hourly rate than those charged by attorneys the district has on retainer.

“He could have gone to work with one of the outside firms we use. This could actually save us money,” he said. “We will hire him on an as-needed basis.”